


Dinner in Cartanica

by Sauronix



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Blind Character, Chapter 9 Spoilers, Disabled Character, Gen, M/M, Very slight Gladnis if you squint
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-14
Updated: 2017-03-14
Packaged: 2018-10-04 15:57:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 878
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10282592
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sauronix/pseuds/Sauronix
Summary: With a sigh, he tears his eyes away from the dust swirling outside his window, from the industrial superstructure dominating the valley below. He looks instead at Ignis, who sits across from him with a still-raw wound over his eye, pushing his rice around his plate with the dexterity of a toddler. It’s painful to watch. It kind of breaks his heart. But Gladio won’t help him, no matter how much he wants to.He can be a friend to him in this crappy diner, and a guide on the road, but Iggy’s gonna need to learn how to navigate his new reality all on his own.After alighting from the train in Cartanica, Gladio and Ignis share a meal and some conversation.





	

Gladio’s been to some shithole towns, but Cartanica might be the shittiest. Not that it’s totally Cartanica’s fault. It probably has its share of charm—a strip club, maybe, and a beach just off the highway. Places Gladio might visit on any other day, in any other town. And sure, the air here stinks of burning chemicals, and the station’s only restaurant feels like it’s caked in fifty years’ worth of dust, but Gladio’s disquiet has more to do with their circumstances than their surroundings.  
  
With a sigh, he tears his eyes away from the dust swirling outside his window, from the industrial superstructure dominating the valley below. He looks instead at Ignis, who sits across from him with a still-raw wound over his eye, pushing his rice around his plate with the dexterity of a toddler. It’s painful to watch. It almost breaks his heart. But Gladio won’t help him, no matter how much he wants to.  
  
He can be a friend to him in this crappy diner, and a guide on the road, but Iggy’s gonna need to learn how to navigate his new reality all on his own.  
  
“You shouldn’t come with us,” he finally says.  
  
Ignis lifts his head, frowning at the space two feet to Gladio’s left. “What do you mean?”  
  
“What do you think I mean?”  
  
Ignis opens his mouth, then closes it again, the groove between his eyebrows deepening. He shakes his head and sets his fork down on the plate. “I can take care of myself, Gladio. I won’t get in your way,” he says softly.  
  
“I ain’t worried about that,” Gladio growls.  
  
“Then why—”  
  
“You could get killed.”  
  
Ignis smiles, and that wry twist of his lips annoys Gladio almost as much as it hurts him. “I could have been killed before,” Ignis says. “I knew the risks. We all did. And we accepted them. It’s my duty to see this through to the end, as it is yours.”  
  
Shit. He should’ve known Iggy would say that. Even blind, the man can be so fucking stubborn. But things are different now. Before, Gladio never had to worry about Ignis, because Ignis saw everything. He didn’t take stupid chances. No, he’d take an inventory of their enemies and make a plan to stop them, and that was that.  
  
But now Ignis sees nothing, and it’s too much to risk.  
  
Gladio leans across the table and lowers his voice. “It was your duty, but it doesn’t have to be anymore. There’s no shame in walking away, Iggy.”  
  
“Do you want me to walk away?”  
  
Gladio thinks about his answer for a minute. He glances out the window, sees Prompto leaning on the railing of the overlook, the wind tossing his yellow hair. Whatever Ignis decides, they’ll all be there to watch his back, no question. But will it be enough? “I just want you to be safe.”  
  
“And I want to be with you,” Ignis says.  
  
Gladio’s pulse starts to gallop. “With me?”  
  
“With all of you,” Ignis says. Again, he takes up his fork, even manages to scoop some rice onto it, but as he ferries it from the plate to his mouth, he ends up dumping it down the front of his shirt. “Damn it,” he says calmly.  
  
Some part of Gladio wants to grab Ignis and shake him, to demand that he get pissed about this situation, for fuck’s sake. Would it kill him to drop the stoic acceptance act? His sight’s been taken from him, his world reduced to a black infinity. And yeah, Gladio’s pissed enough for the two of them, but it’s not a burden he wants to carry alone, nor should he have to. It’s easier to comfort someone who cries on your shoulder than someone who puts up a wall.  
  
He won’t say it, though. He just takes the back of Ignis’s hand and slaps a napkin into his open palm.  
  
“Thank you,” Ignis murmurs.  
  
“I’ll have your back in there,” Gladio says as he digs his wallet out of his pocket. He pulls out a few bills and throws them on the table, enough to cover both their meals. “Still don’t think it’s a good idea for you to tag along, though.”  
  
Ignis brushes the last few grains of rice off his shirt. When he speaks, there’s an irritated edge to his voice. “I appreciate that, but what would you have me do instead? Sit here and dwell on my demons?”  
  
“I don’t know, Ignis.” Gods, he's tired. Tired of feeling so sad, of trying to talk sense into people who won't listen. He sighs and slides out of the booth. “Noct and Prompto are waiting. Let’s go.”  
  
He takes Ignis’s arm and helps him to his feet, pushing the walking stick into his fumbling hand. When they exit the restaurant, the sun hangs low in the sky, casting its golden light over Cartanica's hard lines and concrete facades. For a minute, Gladio feels like everything is going to be all right. But then Ignis trips down the steps and Gladio has to catch him, placing one hand on the small of his back to keep him steady.

"Ready?" Gladio asks.

Ignis nods, and they go to meet Noct by the elevator. 


End file.
